Atlanta Film Festival's 2024 Schedule Measures About A Bowshot Away From Olympic Relevance

The 2024 Atlanta Film Festival is underway, this year featuring just one Olympic-tethered film among dozens of features and documentaries in the 48th annual event's screening lineup. 

At the Tara Theatre yesterday, a nearly full auditorium of ticketholders met LA 2028 Olympic archery hopeful Hayun Choi, the eighth-grade subject of filmmaker Sangsun Choi's documentary short "About A Bowshot Away." 

Check out the calming trailer at this link. 

Filmed during Christmas 2022 to April 2023, the film also introduced the young archer's Korean American parents Jaemin and Jinmi Choi, Hayun's father and mother who work as a suburban Atlanta law office case manager and lab technician, respectively.

Like the bull's eye on Hayun's backyard targets, the center of the film is the family's teamwork to help the young athlete's hobby-turned-passion since she picked up her first bow in elementary school. When she's not completing hours of target practice or adjusting equipment, the athlete also enjoys another concentration-infused pastime: playing the piano. 

On top of funding their daughter's equipment, competition entries and travel to out of state tournaments, the family shares how they navigated the fallout of a verbally abusive hired coach who inspired the family patriarch to himself take on his daughter's coaching duties, at times testing his comfort zone. 

Through Sangsun's interviews with each family member, their shared and individual goals, and steps taken toward their achievement, crescendo at a Florida tournament, yielding an inspiring audience payoff that may turn heads on Hayun's road to the 2028 Games. 

In a post-screening conversation, the archer explained she was too young to qualify for Paris 2024, but her sights are set on Los Angeles, by which time she'll be a Class of '28 high school graduate. 

From left, Sangsun Choi
with the archery family subjects
of "About A Bowshot Away"

Sangsun, who also works as an assistant professor at Kennesaw State University's School of Communication and Media, noted he may continue to film the family's progress to update "About A Bowshot Away" in new formats. 

"When I made this documentary, I thought that archery was a kind of symbol or metaphor to show a beautiful life and also through my observation I wanted to reveal authentic life, presenting Korean people and the Korean community," said Sangsun. "Hopefully I can make the next version when [my subject, Hayun] is going to the Olympics."

Opening weekend of AFF also included a sold-out screening of the filmed-in-Georgia treat "The Idea of You" with a post-screening Q&A featuring director Michael Showalter, who co-wrote the screenplay with its source material author Jennifer Westfeldt. 

Starring Anne Hathaway as a 40-year-old mother who stumbles into a romance with a half-her-age boy band heartthrob played by Nicholas Galitzine, the crowd-pleasing film got rave audience reviews for its thoughtful writing, natural and perfectly timed acting and killer soundtrack with catchy new pop songs, a longtime Showalter favorite by Fiona Apple and other surprises. 

Showalter took a moment to answer a couple of questions at the red-carpet premiere:

Also viewed at AFF so far (and worth another look when available via the festival's streaming platform): 

• "Naked Ambition" unveiling the decades of hard work, creative techniques, personal struggles and perseverance by pinup portraitist Bunny Yeager. The creators of this film offer a convincing argument the photographer also invented what is now known as a "selfie." 
• 
  "Luther: Never Too Much" unveiling the ups and downs of the accomplished R&B singer-
  songwriter Luther Vandross. Though I was familiar with many of his hits of the '80s and '90s, I had no idea his 1970s connections to David Bowie, Nile Rodgers, Roberta Flack and others, nor his work on commercial jingles. By the time this film crescendoed with the Vandross:Mariah Carey duet remake of "Endless Love" and his autobiographical ballad "Dance with My Father" with Richard Marx -- atop revelations of Vandross enduring weight issues/fat shaming and other personal struggles -- there wasn't a dry eye in the house. 

On deck for screening later this week:

• 
  "Citizen Sleuth" featuring the Mile Marker 181 podcast by Emily Nestor unraveling a true crime murder mystery
• "Thank You Very Much" about which I am cautiously optimistic for a fresh look at the life and work of comedian Andy Kaufman
• "The South Got Something To Say" presenting Atlanta's contributions to 50 years of hip-hop (nominated for two Southeast Emmy Awards)

Check out the complete schedule and buy Atlanta Film Festival tickets via the AFF app and website. See you at the movies!

Photos of by Sangsun Choi and the Choi archery family as well as Michael Showalter by Nicholas Wolaver. "About A Bowshot Away" poster provided by the director via this link; "Luther: Never Too Much" poster via this Moviefone link. "Citizen Sleuth" image via Screen Anarchy.